oproleplayingfandomcom-20200214-history
Terror in Rinoa
The dawn was especially cruel to the residents of the seaside town of Rinoa, sole residential area of Heartily Island. The evening just before they'd been a bustling town filled with happy people going about their merry business, fishers selling their wares at the marketplace, children laughing with joy. Rinoa was a town steeped in commerce and a signficiant trade center for the people of the New World, many a pirate steered well clear of it for it was under the personal protection of none other than the Yonko Daddy L. Legs. It had been a lovely solution, she offered the town protection, and they gave her valuable intelligence on treasures, and whatever else they learned. Alongside a hefty donation to her cause, which helped ensure the comfort of herself and her crew, only someone with no true sense of self-preservation or with an almost unprecedented amount of arrogance would dare do it harm. Unfortunately for the town's residents, the well-dressed gentleman that appeared the day before on a traders vessel happened to be both of those things. He'd claimed to be there for collecting wares for his enterprise, when asked for further information, his answer had simply been "Slaves". After that the rest of the evening had been an entire blurr of screams, yells and desperate pleads for survival, none of which he'd heard. Streets Painted Red Dawn came, and the first lights shone upon the grisly scene that were the streets of Rinoa, now eerily silent aside from the sound of droplets of life fluids falling onto the streets from conspicious places. Isamu was nothing if not imaginative. The welcoming sign of the village was pierced through with many iron spears, sculpted from objects within the area and the rubble of fallen buildings; it was done in such a manner that the spears spelled from afar "Help". But the most gristly bit was that on each spear dangled the impaled corpse of a former citizen of Rinoa, it was their blood that fell upon the ground below; and the ground could hardly be seen for the sheer amount of bodies that stood piled up. Needless to say, when he'd stated his intention so plainly, the populace had not been cooperative and had assaulted him as best they could despite their meager abilities, likely counting on the protection of Legs to ensure their safety. They were wrong. Currently the culprit in question sat in the middle of the plaza, awaiting his present to be brought before him; upon entering the town he'd caught sight of a handsome young man, the very picture of joy, helping his undoubtedly loving wife buy groceries for dinner. It had been a lovely scene, and Isamu had at that moment decided that that man would be his prize for Rinoa, his own little collectible. Trailing a hand through the blood-grimed waters of the fountain, Isamu lifted his gaze upon those he'd already assembled; a large number of men and women, all of whom had conventionally 'attractive' features stood before him. In their eyes, there was an unsettling vacancy, for their minds had been crushed; ready to be reforged by someone who'd enjoy such a task. Isamu's clientele were nothing if not discerning, they loved having ready-made slaves to ravish, violate or torture as they wished; he'd made certain to keep their basic emotions intact. When he at last arrived to sell his slaves, they'd line up nicely and obediently on the stand, ready to be inspected. Isamu had always found pleasure in enslaving others, it was a special kind of feeling to know you had complete control over another human being, to be their master, their god, and their jailor; besides, the hunt could be so fun and it lead to meeting all these nice people. His train of thought was interrupted by the scream of his prize as he was dragged towards the well-dressed man by other enslaved citizens, their empty eyes staring blankly out into empty space as they carried out the will of Isamu. His Devil Fruit was so exceptionally well-suited to slavery, they practically came of their own volition, why it was almost legal. He begged and attempting to reason with his former friends, screamed their names, but they would not listen, could not listen. At last he was hurled in front of Isamu, his leggings immediately soaked with the sheer amount of blood on the ground, he screamed and trashed in raw delightful terror as he witnessed friends and family among the dead. But eventually he spoke tearfully. "Do anything you want to me, but please spare my wife!" Isamu pondered the question, scratching his chin in contemplation of the pros and cons of such a decision. But once again his train of thought was cut abruptly short by the scream of a woman, the wife of his prize which he'd seen earlier. He could sense how his soon-to-be collectibe tensed at her presence, screaming at her to run and hide, to turn back, but she merely ran towards him and leapt into his arms, weeping uncontrollably. She was beautiful, he supposed, with long eyelashes, big eyes and fair skin. It... sickened him. He dug his hand into the cold marble of the fountain, which cracked under the raw strain of the gesture; his eyes lost all sense of fake serenity for a time, and for a moment the couple got to see the true monster which slept beneath that comely facade. But the illusion was soon reasserted and he smiled a radiant smile at the two of them, so bright and so genuine that it seemed as though everything that had transpired was merely a bad dream. So surreal was the contradiction of the gesture. "Of course, I understand that your love is the real thing.. is it not? Go on, what are you waiting for, run away!" The lovers looked up as if he was suddenly an angel, to have released them from their terror, their hands joined as they ran towards the exit with all their might. Banishing the fact that they were practically stumbling over the corpses of their fallen friends, how marvelous the fact that humans could find joy in their survival while all of their friends lied dead beneath them. At last the couple came to the gate to the town, mindless of the fact that their clothes became drenched in blood dripping from the corpses above. All they could see was the sea, vast, glimmering and full of hope, so full of potential, they would build a raft.. travel to a nearby island, have children and live the rest of their days in gratitude. Smiling, the man's wife turned towards him as she spoke "Honey.. we'll rebuild and strive to forget this ever happened. I love yo--" the last word was cut off as the woman's mouth filled with blood, gagging she looked down at her body, it was then that she realized that an invisible blade had bifurcated her without her notice. She collapsed in a heap of dismembered limbs shortly afterwards, but she managed to choke out one last word. "R-rrughn.." her husbands eyes widened then, until he let out an unearthly howl of anguish. Isamu had given the couple false hope, only to crush them brutally, and thus plunge them both into the deepest depths of anguish, to him, it was a moment so beautiful that it might as well have constituted art.. although it would've been easier if blood came in more colors. However, the man had not forgotten his wifes last request, and promptly ran as fast he could towards the exit, but no sooner had he emerged past the entrance than an invisible force grabbed ahold of him and pulled him back, screaming, begging and sobbing. He clawed at the ground in an effort to stop it, but all he accomplished was breaking apart his nails, leaving ten thin trails of blood from his fingertips as he was dragged towards the beast by the fountain. Who awaited with hungry eyes and an arm outstretched. A Message Delivered Some time afterwards, Isamu sat at the same place, stroking a hand lovingly through the hair of the latest addition to his collection; the man had his head in Isamu's lap like an obedient dog, his eyes robbed of all personality and soul. The Nō Nō no Mi made breaking people so easy... Not too long after, Legs casually strolled to the center of the village, one that she had adored and had developed such infatuation for. It almost saddened her that it was destroyed: almost. But, for all its worth, she was a seasoned veteran of the seas. She had experienced genocides, destruction. In fact, it had been she who sometimes caused it, yet, a distinct difference was it was all for purpose. As far as she could tell, this, whatever the hell Isamu created, was not. Though, for Legs to admit an emotional withdrawal from the situation would have been a fable. --- Cue Flashback --- "Queen Legs", a Kuja warrior exhaled in desperation as she tore open the door to the throne room. Her fellow tribesman nearly dug their spears into her heart. "Heavens. Diana, you need to be more careful," one responded sincerely. '' ''"There's no time! Queen Legs-sama! Rinoa!" Legs leaned forward in interest. "They're.....all...!" --- End Flashback --- There, he sat, plopped against the edges of the fountain carelessly. Apparently, he had taken a lover too. "You could've picked a more attractive man," Legs spat. "Rinoa was once full of them. Until, of course, you decided to come and massacre half the island." The hate in her voice was obvious, and so was the complacency. The stranger was was foreign to the Yonko. Her influence across the world was recognized, evident by her title. She had birds everywhere, including the marines themselves. All the stories they had developed, all the mysteries they had solved, and all the dossiers they created she had seen them all. Yet, the man before her was unknown. Maybe he was simply nobody. "Personally, the men here were my favorite. They were always sooooo," her voice dragged on as she tickled the hilts of her sword. "Patient. It's an attribute I, myself, have never truly possessed. So, I praise those who do." She let a small silence sit between her next statement, almost awaiting a response that she had never asked for. When she wasn't given it, it slightly annoyed her. Though, did she expect him to understand the nature of a woman? "If you weren't aware, Rinoa was a wealthy, prospering seafaring island. A source of commerce almost unrivaled by any others under my protection. They provided my crew, and particularly my empire, a fraction of these resources, and a fraction of their earnings. This is perhaps one of the biggest losses we have sustained." As Legs' continued to explain, the rage in her voice had become that much more evident. Every syllable ended in a disgusting hiss. --- Cue Flashback --- "Diana, how dare you!" Legs exclaimed, clenching her very warrior by the throat. "You know better than to lie to me, child!" "B-B-ut," she strained, "I'm s-s-s-serious." "Please, Queen Legs," her royal guards interjected. "Just, hear her out." Although furious, Legs was not one to become irrational. She dropped Diana, and walked back to her throne. "You have five minutes to explain the situation of Rinoa, Diana." --- End Flashback --- "You have about two minutes to explain why you've done what you have done, and I may, allow you to live, child." Isamu rose from where he was seated and ruffled his hand almost lovingly through the hair of his pet. He looked at Legs and responded simply, with a bright smile. "I simply wanted to meet you, Legs-san" He hadn't killed everyone, of course, he'd spared most of the children, who were now hiding out around the town, wailing at the thought of their parents, their youthful minds unable to cope with the horrors of Rinoa. It was a relevant bit of knowledge. Isamu thought he should probably bring it up, and with a smile he added. "I've spared the children, they're cowering at numerous places throughout the town, I can sense their anguish, terror and inability to accept this reality. I'm certain that many of them will grow up to become just like me.. wouldn't that be wonderful?" The man stood up calmly, his boots remained strangely unsoiled despite the amount of blood that surrounded him, in fact, his entire outfit was strangely impeccable. He had his pet run along, he would fetch him later, after he was done with Legs. Well, he had her here now, he assumed her reputation and faith in her abilities helped lull her into a false sense of security, he had his doubts that any of the other Yonko were this careless. If they were, then hunting them down should prove to be a less amusing sport than he had first assumed. Isamu began to walk calmly, as the telltale sign of his powers welled up around him; visible as a green light that surrounded his body briefly as his hands were shrouded in raw psionic energies, refined to the point where their sharpness was simply extraordinary, on par with that of a Saijo O Wazamono, few users of Haki could withstand their touch undisturbed, and even a superficial cut also cut straight to the mind of his foes. But, masked by the emergence of his psionic blades, was another action; a ripple of psychokinesis which tore at the very foundation of the ground beneath ripple, causing it to spontanously open like a maw beneath the Yonko and attempt to trap her within an earthen tomb, with the raw force of Isamu's mind commanding the very air to barrel down against her in an effort to slow her movements and reaction time. But it was only then that Isamu's assault began in earnest; on his first, his speed was equaled by few, even in the New World, but when he utilized his movements became so fast that even complex strings of attacks could be done in a matter of milliseconds. It was this that occured now, as Isamu moved to unleash large blades of raw horizontal energy from the prime directions of west, north and east in a systematic pattern towards Legs' current position, each of them would rip through her location, whether they struck her successfully or not and slice clean through a large amount of buildings; and the children that were hiding within. Before dissipating in a flash of green energies -- as large structures crumbled down on themselves all over the area, killing whomever happened to be inside. All of this happened so quickly that it seemed as though the attacks had been unleashed at exactly the same time, rather than concurrently; but it was the last of the four attacks that truly demonstrated the raw power of the psionic blades; for with the last horizontal strike he managed to cut the remainder of the market place in two, as an immensely wide swath of destruction followed in the wake of his attack, green energies rippled throughout the plaza, cutting through buildings, people and anything foolish enough to come in its way, and Isamu hoped it would do the same to Legs too -- but he wanted to put additional guarantees in place to it concluded as a favorable outcome for him. Thus he reached out for Legs' mind, and with a measure of concentration attempted to crush it with an immensely powerful psionic attack, sent as a ripple of raw electricity through her entire mind, momentarily disabling her nervous system and making her helpless to resist his last psionic blade. As he exerted himself to this degree, that same green light shone from his body like a beacon, telling of the powers invested in the attack, and the very air around his head seemed to be distorted by an invisible force. Meanwhile, Isamu's mind was ravaged by excruciating agony at the stress placed on it, and it was only through his sheer resolve and tolerance to pain that he remained capable of concentrating; enduring it in the knowledge that however much it might do to HIM, it would do infinitely more to his target. Following this exertion, which he hoped had at least gravely wounded the Yonko, he briefly swayed where he stood but soon regained his composure. He could not be felled by this minor an exertion, he'd probably need to exert himself on a much grander scale later. The weight of his mind fell upon her, quite literally. The air pressure above her intensified immensely, forcing the Yonko to bend her knees to accompany it. “Well,” she strained, “I-Isn’t this— “her voice faded away into the subconscious of her mind as a spark of electricity rushed her body. It burned. She could feel her body going numb. ‘’”Shit,”’’ she thought. --- Cue Flashback --- The boat that her warriors had prepared, for Thatch had taken their main ship to attend to issues in the New World personally, was a large ship, comparable to that as the ones the marines used for the Buster Call. In fact, Legs’ was certain that it was a marine ship the previous Kuja Queen, Boa, stole during her reign as a Shichibukai. She despised Shichibukai. They were fakes. They were nothing but pirates afraid of the consequences of living their lives, or, maybe they were simply so arrogant that they believe their actions stand above the law. Either way, Legs’ despised them. She despised their way of thought. But, she couldn’t deny their usefulness. Especially the ones who worked underneath of her. Though, in his regard, she could tell he wasn’t meant to be a Shichibukai. He was acting on instincts that he had been taught. But, it was why she existed. To break those worthy of her attention from their primal thoughts, and to become gems for her to benefit from. “Legs-sama,” a voice called from behind her. Legs sighed in response. “Yes, Diana. What do you want now?” “Are you sure you wish to confront him on his own?” “Diana,” Legs chuckled, turning to face her warrior, “do you think I’m incapable of dealing with some renegade punk?” “Of course not,” Diana quickly replied, “But, I’m just concerned, Legs’ sama. You’re our Queen!” Her eyes began to water, and her voice became soft. “I-I know that you’re a Yonko, but you don’t have to do this alone. I-I can’t help but think about the worst, Legs’ sama.” --- End Flashback --- ‘’”I can’t die here. For, Diana’’” Legs internalized, releasing a shockwave of energy that shook the island in its might. It distorted the earth beneath her, unearthing the natural flora, ripping the cement of the floors itself, and churning the winds around her. While it simultaneously carried the pheromones—her pheromones were invisible, scentless and generally undetectable, until, of course, the victim was under their effects—that her body had naturally begun to release in wake of the impending danger, aimed to put Isamu to sleep, it woke her from the nightmare. A fierce sweat dripped from the crown of her head, and her breath was heavy. Yet, such was not the time to recover. Two physical assaults, for the weight that was once caused by the air seemed relieved by her shockwave, momentarily, forced her way. “Fuck, you!” She exclaimed, pulling her swords, forged from seastone, from their sheathes. As he rocks came to encapsulate her, she dug one into the earth, removing Isamu’s influence from it. Then, in a fluid motion, she did the same with the other swords placed upon her hip, instead throwing them directly towards the waves of psionic energy that approached her. However, when she reached for the other blade, to deal with the last immense wave approaching her, she remembered that she only carried four on her person. She prepared to dodge, until she remembered the children. A mighty “Shit!” escaped her mouth as she extended her arm herself towards the mental slice that surged throughout the air with remarkable precision. The rings upon her fingers subtly shook in response, as she shrieked. “Impact!” Another wall of kinetic energy spurred from her hands, seemingly originating from these rings, catching Isamu’s slice in its tracks, or so she thought. However, it continued, pushing Legs’ back as it threatened to destroy her. “Fuck, w-why,” she strained as her dials slowly failed against the immense pressure of the slice. “Why didn’t I,” she continued, before being interrupted as one of her dials hit the limit of the amount of kinetic energy it had stored. Only one remained. Her sweat worsened. Why couldn’t she stop it? Or rather, why didn’t she dodge? They were nothing but resources. They could be replaced as easily. So, why didn’t she dodge? Was it because she cared about the children? Legs’ shrieked, “Fuck you for making me care about them!” In a furious rage, her conqueror’s Haki that had been seething through her pores, became a dark hue of black, encapsulating her remaining arm in an aura of what seemed to be metal. Her last dial stopped, and the blast continued to her arm, though weakened from its previous encounters. She caught it in her palm, as the pressure continued to force her hair backwards like a hurricane’s wind. “Ahhhh!!” She yelled, closing her palm, dissipating the entire blast itself. She gasped heavily. She survived the onslaught, or so she believed. Then, she found her body being overcome by lightning again. “B-But, I thought!” Her mind fell numb. When she came to, it was dark and formless. There was nothing. Just her, sitting, standing, in an endless, darkness. Then, in a spur of energy, Diana appeared before her, smiling, laughing, and then, in an instant, collapsing just as she had just done. Standing behind her was Isamu. “What…Diana!?” Legs yelled in the endless void as he approached her. “Run, Diana! Run Diana! RUN!!!” She continued. “I said! RUN!!” Energy spurred in this void. A bang was induced upon the world. Suddenly, there was form. Her warriors, who all had seemingly been knocked unconscious in this world, forced themselves up. She could see their faces, but, rather than be a solid, they were formed from a sort of spiritual energy. Diana. Legs could recognize her, but she was distinctly different. She could see her feelings. She could sense her powers. Legs, could send the anguish that her warriors had been succumbed to. It almost broke her mind, but, it was her resolute will that forced her up. Suddenly, she awoke to Isamu smiling sadistically as she plummeted to the earth. With a fierce stomp, she caught herself. Her mind, for the first time since her arrival, was quiet. Was this the power of Kenbunshoku? So the Yonko had managed to survive his opening attack after all, well, he supposed such was to be expected; how else would she have earned her title. It would appear that his Devil Fruit's power had caught her by surprise, for she hadn't had the chance to retaliate with an attack of her own, being far too preoccupied fending off his initial assault. Usually, he would become complacent at such a showing, but not today, Daddy L. Legs was an infamous Captain feared by pirate, marine and civilian all. With gentle steps Isamu began to walk towards his prey, as he observed her current condition and her equipment.. paying particular heed to the seastone swords that she'd used to disrupt his attack. But there was no time to ponder this further, and at the third step Isamu phased away from view, his movement so fast that it seemed as though he'd simply been erased where he last stood; but then the air was cut in twain by a blade of flickering green energy that threatened to once again wipe out a large part of the settlement, his strike was blocked masterfully by the Yonko; so he struck again, and again, but the woman was determined to not let anything happen to the children and so it was that the two of them became locked in a deadly dance of raging limbs, where even the slightest mistake could cost them their lives. Isamu's psionic blades cleaved through the environment around them, cutting open large crevasses in the ground but thanks to the woman's heroic efforts none of those stray blades struck one of structures, but in return the area began to get filled with rubble. Which presented Isamu another way to assault his foe. Almost imperceptibly, Isamu reached out towards the rubble in the surrounding area, the smaller the object the better. Even as he remained locked in the intensive dance he began to manipulate the objects, sharpening loose pieces of rock and iron with his mind, enduring the throb that began to form in the back of his head at the strain. Then, those very objects were imbued with his own haki, the Color of Armament no less -- ensuring that they would remain a threat to anyone, Yonko or Farmer, Peasant or Prince. He then directed them and unleashed them upon Legs, driven forth by his psychokinesis, they were like dozens of invisible burrets, streaking through the air at such tremendous speeds that avoidance seemed an impossibility to most who faced them; and just as they were inches away from Isamu, he abruptly lept into the air, high above the spectacle below and extended his leg into a mighty axe-kick, before he brought it down to bear upon the Yonko below him with tremendous force as ; the Rokushiki technique melded perfectly with his psionic blades in order to create a massive vertical column that split the plaza in half down the middle, as it headed for Legs with the intention of annihilating both her mind and body. But the symphony was not yet complete, not even remotely close; for in that moment he utilized Soru once more, and with its peerless speed he darted past his own attacks and appeared a distance behind Legs; his right hand outstretched, palm open and directed at his adversary. It was then that the world around them seemed to stand still for a moment, as he began to feel excruciating pain build up within his skull.. before he released his application. A shrill cacophonous roar resounded throughout the town, shattering windows, disintegrating solid concrete walls and upturning the pavement that littered the roads, which rolled up into a ball and was sent careening towards the Yonko with the force of a meteor; all while the overwhelming power of Isamu's psionic shockwaves attempted to tear her limbs off her body because of the raw friction and strength; whatever lied within the radius of his attack was outright eradicated.. and whats more, it attempted to hurl the woman straight into the massive column of psionic energy he'd created earlier, maximizing his offence by striking from two separate directions at once. But the worst was yet to come, for when the shockwave met with the Rankyaku, the two forces of psionic power merged with one another in order to form a furious tempest of green energies; a so-called psionic storm, which, assuming the woman had not yet been destroyed by the previous attack, not only sought to grind her body into dust.. but which more tragically, erased another massive portion of the town. Had there been any survivors, they were surely gone now; and thus it was that Isamu had succeeded in completely wiping out the town of Rinoa, excluding the slaves he'd evacuated from the towns premises before the battle even started.. reaching out with his mind, he could confirm, there was no residents of Rinoa currently still alive, even following his attack, the psionic storm would sustain itself for a while longer, it was an immensely powerful application of the Nou Nou no Mi; and one he only utilized rarely.. of course, this application was a lesser variant, meant to conserve his stamina. He'd made a gestalt version of the real thing by combining the interactions of two separate applications. Regardless, twisters of green energy now danced amidst the rubble and ruins, bolts of green lightning crackled along the ground and a heavy presence loomed over the area.. then, came the toll. Indescribable agony assaulted Isamu's senses, forcing him to kneel down on the ground, clutching his head between his hands, as though he could squeeze the pain shut somehow. But it didn't stop, it would not stop until he had recovered.. and until then, he had to make a temporary retreat.. with a barely suppressed scream he enforced his will on the air surrounding him, camouflaging him within a sphere of bent light, making him invisible to the senses of whomever remained outside. He needed some time to recover. As Isamu sat in the remains of a building, taking cover from his own storm, a figure approached him. It was Legs, and she was furious. --- Cue Flashback --- Despite her ability to sense vibrations, which meant even the smallest possible breath anyone took was detectable, Legs had never felt any more in tune with the hearth around her. Not only could she sense his being, and his power, but his intent. She felt the malice, which is why as he began to pick up the pebbles, she knew it was coming even though his body shielded it. Thus, by the time they had shot towards her, the defense had already started. She clasped her hands together ferociously as her Busoshoku Haki spun around her like a whirlpool of flames, though, with time the maelstrom of Haki seemed to grow larger to encompass the being within. '' Legs was getting larger. That was fact. Whether Isamu had detected during his attacks—she had assumed that he did considering he prepared to launch heavier attacks—was irrelevant, because she wasn’t going to stop regardless; she would become the , a Spider with the same durability, strength, and of much larger size than a Tank. Soon, as he transformation was complete, the haki around her metallicized into the black armour she had used earlier. Thus, by the time the invisible bullets arrived, they had simply ricocheted off her massive frame. ''However, the telekinetic push and the strike from above were different. Even with all of her durability, survival was not a guarantee, and so, from her spinnerets, waves of spider silk flew outwards onto her metallic flesh. Yet, even as she protected herself, Legs’ concern was not with her own well-being, but the children. With sheer strength, Legs forced her large body outwards, into the plaza, in the direction of the children, withstanding the telekinetic push that occurred with the glue that was her spider silk. --- End Flashback --- That was all she remembered about the events. Legs stood before Isamu, her eyes red with fury as she pointed her steel blade towards Isamu. “You piece of fucking shit,” she cursed. “What the fuck is your problem, huh? Why the fuck are you doing all of this you sadistic piece of shit?”, she fiercely inquired. “Because of you…Diana…” Legs fell mute as her memories pulled her back into the nightmare she had just experienced. --- Cue Flashback --- She had fell unconscious, at one point, she believed. In fact, she had originally believed she had died. Saving the seven children did not come without sacrifice, and she knew that. She had planned to be missing an arm, a leg, but, when she awoke it was all there. “What the? But…how?” Legs glanced at her hands, looking as they were covered in an enormous amount of blood. “What…is?” “Excuse me, Maam,” a high pitch voice shot from behind her. Legs sharply looked back to the figure of the child standing before her. '' “How many children are with you?” ''“Um..” “I said, how many children are with you, kid?” Legs aggressively inquired. “Um, seven! It’s seven of us,” he fearfully replied. Though, she could tell that he was not afraid of her. She had just saved his life. He was still shocked by the entire incident. “Then, whose blood is this,” Legs rhetorically asked. “Well…a big woman came to save us after you passed out after rescuing me last. She said she was a friend of yours…a woman named..Deasia.” Legs held back tears as he uttered the name. “Deasia,” she quietly muttered. “Do. Do you mean, Diana?” “Yes, that was it! She was nice, and very kind and,” the child spoke, before being interrupted by Legs as she silently departed the room. It had seemed that they took refuge in a dilapidated home. It took the general layout of a house. Particularly, the bed going through the stove was a big indication. In the living room, the six other children sat quietly, trembling in sheer fear. It had seemed the one that Legs’ had conversed with was the oldest, which wasn’t saying much considering that child could have been no older than twelve. This was sad. Yet, Legs found it difficult, even in her willingness to sacrifice herself for them, to think about their situation any more. She had to find Diana, and eventually she did. She lied motionless on the ground, with a shard of debris sticking through her chest. Her body was littered in bruises, cuts, and scrapes. Though, before all, her clothes were torn and worn upon her back and shoulders. Almost as if she had carried a person for an extended period of time. “Fuck,” Legs softly cried. --- End Flashback --- “Answer me!", Legs shrieked. “Why?!” Isamu dropped the pretense as Legs came into view, as she spoke he simply locked eyes with her, they always asked him these questions, ever since he had been but a boy. Many variants he'd heard, including those who told him that he didn't have to do what he did. Ultimately, he'd never understood the question. So as she raised her voice and demanded answer, he merely had another one for her. "Why not?" Two simple words, but they described Isamu's outlook well. It was not that he was angry at the world, not that it had deeply wronged him - it was that Isamu had been born to be wrong. As if to emphasize this, Isamu's Haki flared in that instanse and from its expression awakened for a moment his truth, Isamu's senses would assault Legs mind, showing her just what she was facing and lash out at her mind with that exquisite brand of terror that Isamu so enjoyed to mete out. His conciousness would wash over her then, a rotten fetid thing that attempted to strangle every waking thought, drowning them in a black pool of nothingness; whether she was struck or evaded it, for a moment, she might witness the truth of Isamu; a man where there was nothing left, no compassion, no conscience, no understanding of right and wrong, good or evil. Simply, emptiness. It was like the mind of a machine, not a man. By now, the pain had completely subsided from his senses and he was free to utilize the powers of his Devil Fruit once more with little limitation. So, while she was destracted by the visions he attempted to show her, he manifested his psionic blades once more.. before lunging out towards her at great speed, spinning around in an elegant arc before unleashing his psionic blades like two large crescents of rippling psychic energy that was intended to make distance between him, with quick steps he then leapt up into the air while moving his hands in almost hypnotic patterns. For a moment, both of his hands faced the grounded Yonko, before the psionic energy split into layering each of his ten fingers, before it surged outward like ten finger-thin spears, attempting to strike clean through her body and mind, with a speed far beyond that demonstrated by the blades produced by strokes of his hands. Afterwards, he seized hold of the air through psychokinetic currents in order to keep his body aloft as he soared up into the skies, looking down on the town below like a god. With both hands outstretched, he focused his psionic potential greatly; his target, the countless rays of the sun. As he concentrated, five black splotches of darkness appeared in the sky, akin to pitch black stars, as sunlight was captured, entrapped and concentrated in those five areas -- empowered to tremendous degrees by the power of the Nou Nou no Mi. With determination he imbued each of the incomplete blasts with Kenbonshoku no Haki to ensure that they would track her location, wherever she went. Then, he spoke the name of the technique out loud, if only out of politeness. "Sunfall" There was a blinding white light, as the first of the five splotches unleashed a wide beam of concentrated sunlight upon Legs below, it was intense light, of such immense intensity that everything within its borders would instantly be carbonized, leaving neither bone, flesh or dust to their name, white flames burst into being along its path, setting the surrounding area ablaze within a mere moment; as though cremating the remains of this fair town. But the most terrifying aspect of them were their speed, for they moved at speeds equivalent to that of the ; the speed of light. Their only limitation was their predictable pattern, for they could only move in a straight line, alongside the time it took for the light to actually gather. At the culmination of the first solar beam, another of the black splotches, guided as if by laserpoint due to the influence of Kenbokshoku Haki; burst into being and once more split the sky and battlefield with a new column of intense sunlight just as terrible as the first, then the next came and wiped out a sizeable part of the town with no trace. Then the final two erupted at once, pincering Legs from two separate directions at once, it was a fearsome phenomena, where the sheer light alone threatened to burn the eyes of whomever dared look to blindness. Following the conclusion of this almost divine act, Isamu struggled to remain aloft under the strain of the great agony which he experienced, writhing in the open sky, although far out of reach of most ordinary attacks. Legs smirked at the answer to his question. “Why not?”, she thought. The destruction of an entire town, and the death of the heiress to her throne was all for a simple, “Why not.” Legs couldn’t help but chuckle at the statement, not out of actual amusement, but from sheer anger and contempt. For much of the battle, Legs had decided to fight defensively, for in truth, that was all she was capable of. However, she would not begin to switch to the offense. She would press Isamu. After-all, she had deduced that it must’ve been taxing for him to use his devil fruit powers as he had been. It was why he always seemingly withdrew himself from the fight. She had planned to attack, until Isamu begun an assault of his own. It was those mind games again. Yet, unlike last time, her Kenbunshoku allowed her to “feel” his psychic energy being propelled towards her. She wouldn’t lose this time. Releasing a burst of Haoshoku, to “weaken” the energy, or at least delay it enough to allow her Kenbunshoku to build up enough strength to overcome it. Yet, this was all a passive task. The initial shockwave of Haki was all that required “conscious thought” allowing her to simultaneously perform another task. Three extra pair of eyes sprouted around her head, not only providing three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision, but also the ability to detect ultraviolet light with vision alone. When the rains of psychic spears emerged, Legs slammed her hands together, and from it birthed a tsunami of flames into existence to stand directly against the flames themselves, and it had been seen that fire consumes all as the tsunami of heat devoured the waves and spears of energy itself, consuming the atmosphere in its smoky remains. She had thought she won, but again, Isamu was a man of incredible power. Her eyes, having been capable of deducing ultraviolet light, caught glimpse of beams of light plummeting towards her. Regardless of how quick it was, if she was capable of detecting it before its fire, it made its entire purpose simply….well, simple. Legs leapt to the side as the stream of light came down, yet, she had underestimated the power of Isamu’s might. The force of the beam forced Legs to the side, which, by sheer luck, had helped her dodge the next beam. She slid across the ruined rubble violently, and then, she was struck. The beam of light evaporated her being. But then, another stream of light struck several meters away, in a dilapidated building. Where had Legs gone? So, the Yonko appeared to outright refuse to draw use of the weaknesses he showed, perhaps she thought it was all a ruse or perhaps she doubted her abilities to the extent she didn't even dare. Yet, for whatever reason, Isamu found that she seemed to lack the will to attack him, had the lives of this.. "Diana" mattered so little to her, perhaps. But whatever the reasoning, the truth of the matter was that he could feel his powers returning and his pain subsiding bit by bit. He'd measured her vessel by exerting himself greatly twice now, but his mind had yet to draw a conclusion. Was she an intellectually inferior being? She certainly spoke like one, she'd only spoken a few sentences to him, but she'd managed to squeeze in many swear words -- the telltale signs of an inferior mind, or that of a childish psyche. Was this what passed for a Yonko nowadays.. remarkable, the world really was a place of inadequacy, he would remedy that. But, there was another matter, it would appear that she'd proven successful in saving the children. This was troublesome, it was not within Isamu's nature to leave survivors or witnesses capable of relaying his grand exploits.. he'd need to capture those children, break their small minds and sell them off into slavery. He knew a few individuals who'd pay handsomely for their own little.. pet. Isamu descended slowly to the ground, although the throbbing in his head was still brilliant, it had lessened enough to afford him some mobility. In the wake of his previous attack the entire town had been set aflame, this was pleasing, it would erase any evidence; with their minds broken those inhabitants he'd chosen to collect for the market would vanish tracelessly. It was a beautiful scene, serene in its own macabre way, and he felt the warmth of the fires as his silhouette was painted shades of red and orange by the flickering lights. Briefly, he focused his Haki and utilized Kenbunshoku to track down the locations of the seven children, while simultaneously keeping a close eye on all of Legs' clones.. watching their movements. He then waited calmly for the effects of his weakened state to wear off, he should be able to fend off most attacks through his speed and intellect, even now. Back Full of Scars She had hoped her deception worked. In fact, prior to doing it, she had almost prayed. Thus, when it worked, she was ecstatic. The cloud had fell for the clone, for a moment at least. She managed to retreat into the depths of the dilapidated buildings and used them for cover, allowing her to craft even more clones to help her retrieve the children. That was five minutes ago. “Hurry, get on the boat,” she yelled, shoving the children onto the boat. Her warriors helped her move them. “We need to leave, immediately,” Legs ordered, pulling one of her warriors towards her by the collar and then casting her away. Within minutes, they were gone, leaving nothing behind but her clones and the tattered remains of the island. She hated running. In fact, she was quick to blame the children, but, deep down, she knew the nature of this fight. The children had only mattered once she discovered them, but anything prior to that was her fault. Diana’s death was her fault. She vowed vengeance one day, but for now, the best move was to simply retreat. “Legs-sama,” a warrior in tears begun, “Diana. She didn’t.” Legs didn’t respond. The warrior took that as indication of what occurred. In a furious rage, she yelled, “What the fuck, huh?! You’re supposed to be a Yonko! One of the strongest on the sea.” The other women began to take notice around her and approached in efforts to calm her down. “And yet,” her tone softened for a brief moment, before flaring into an anger again, “You couldn’t protect her! What the hell were you doing then huh? Please tell me that bastard is at least dead.” “That opponent was one of the strongest I’ve fought yet,” Legs admitted, “I had more important things to take care of than beating him. I needed to protect the children. Diana’s sacrifice was for the best. She not only protected her Queen, but preserved the life of seven children. They will be the future of the world.” Her glare intensified as she directed her eyes to the warrior before her. “Don’t mistake her death for pointless. It was sacrifice. Respect it.” “Yeah right! You’re telling me you can’t beat no-“the warrior was interrupted as she began choking intensely. She dropped to her knees, gagging on what seemed to be nothing, until a blue liquid dripped from her mouth. “W-What t-the,” she shakenly muttered. Her cough intensified and the amount of liquid increased with each cough, until she fell onto the ground motionless. Soon afterwards, the blue aura took shape into a small solid ball, and with a flick of her hand it flew effortlessly into Legs’ mouth. She swallowed it with delight. The other warriors turned away, knowing full as well what had just happened. Regardless, Legs’ took it upon herself to remind them. “Remember, children,” she condescendingly retorted, “If you think for even a moment that you can stand up to my might, I will put you down, just as I did her. I gave her a fragment of my power, and she thought herself powerful enough to challenge me. A foolish mistake honestly.” Legs began walking to her chambers. “Let’s not make it a frequent occurrence,” she chuckled, stepping into the darkness of her room.